The 2011 Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), presented by American Express, the founding sponsor of the Festival, today announced its lineup of 60 short films, 22 of which are world premieres.

Also new this year, the recipient of the TFF Best Narrative Short award will qualify for consideration in the Short Films category of the annual Academy AwardsÂ® without the standard theatrical run, provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy rules.

The short film program will be presented in eight thematic programs and a wide range of cultural perspectives. Drawn from 2,862 submissions, the program represents 21 countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Haiti, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, and the United States.

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This year’s Festival shorts exemplify a broad spectrum of styles and storytelling, including an animated program and the always-popular New York shorts program. From zombies taking over Manhattan to the humanitarian effort in Haiti, these short films represent a range of genres and subjects. The program features performances by Campbell Scott, Anthony LaPaglia, Jean Reno, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Brendan Gleeson, Colin Quinn, Carmine Famiglietti and Eddie Marsan, and animated shorts featuring the voices of David Duchovny, Joseph Fiennes and Ian McKellan.

“Each of our short film programs promises an entertaining journey, exposing an audience to filmmaking they may not have the opportunity to see otherwise,” said Sharon Badal, TFF head short film programmer. “Whether narrative, documentary, experimental or animation, these short films exhibit extraordinary talent. We’re thrilled to bring films from around the globe to our Festival, and with a large number of world premieres, to share many of them with an audience for the first time.”

The works in the 2011 TFF short film lineup are eligible to compete for combined cash and value-in-kind prizes totaling more than $15,000 for Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary Short and Student Visionary Award.

This tasty assortment of animated shorts will leave you hungry for more. A polar bear in Hollywood has trouble going with the “floe” in The Beaufort Diaries. Love isn’t what it’s cracked up to be in Not Over Easy. In Year Zero a sole survivor battles the zombie apocalypse in New York City. A lonely and bitter Easter Bunny hatches a plan to steal the spotlight from Santa in Preferably Blue. Follow the lives of seemingly random characters in Just That Sort of a Day. A man’s journey through grief is revealed in A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation. It’s a ravishing ride through an imaginary animated landscape in Harmonium Mountain.

The Beaufort Diaries, (USA) New York Premiere, directed by Alex Petrowsky, written by T Cooper

Not Over Easy, (Canada), New York Premiere, directed by Jordan Canning, written by Jody Richardson and Jordan Canning

Year Zero, (USA), World Premiere, directed and written by Richard Cunningham III

Preferably Blue, (New Zealand), New York Premiere, directed by Alan Dickson, written by Wayne Ching

Just That Sort of a Day, (India), New York Premiere, directed and written by Abhay Kumar

A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation, (Germany), New York Premiere, directed by Martin Wallner and Stefan Leuchtenberg, written by Martin Wallner

Harmonium Mountain, (USA), New York Premiere, directed by Clifford Ross